IF I HAD A HAMMER

Indianapolis, IN & Macomb, IL … The Malawi businessman was on his first visit to the United States when he visited a “big box” hardware store. He stood at the end of the isle and stared down the long row. “What are you thinking,” he was asked? “I think there are more hammers in this store than we have in the entire capitol of our nation,” he responded. He would be one to know since he was in the midst of building the first building of a new hospital north of the capitol. He had made multiple trips to the capitol to obtain supplies and hand tools were few and far between at the building site. In fact, workmen were sharing a hand saw and a single hammer for much of the work and the building contained 17 rooms, long hallways, and a need for dozens of handsaws and hammers.

Recently Wanda Carson, a member of Scotland Trinity Presbyterian Church in Macomb, Illinois, learned of the need for hand tools in Malawi. Hammers topped the needs list and she happened to work for a hammer manufacturer. Her employer, the Vaughan and Bushnell Mfg. Co. of Macomb, holds a rich history of innovation and manufacturing in the mid-west. Its founder Alexander Vaughan was granted a U.S. Patent for his improved post auger in 1869, and in 1882 the Vaughan Company incorporated as the Vaughan & Bushnell Mfg. Co. A variety of tools and implements soon carried the company name, including hammers that are synonymous with quality. Today the company is under the oversight of Charles S. Vaughan, the fifth generation of the Vaughan family.

When Wanda gave her employers the details and needs of Malawi the company was quick to respond with a large number of hammers and crowbars to assist construction projects in Malawi. During a recent Malawi Project presentation Wanda offered the donation to be sent to Malawi on the next overseas shipment.